Cognitive cerebellum dominates motor cerebellum in functional decline of older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science

Cognitive Dysfunction*/physiopathology ; Cognitive Dysfunction*/diagnostic imaging ; Cerebellum*/physiopathology ; Cerebellum*/diagnostic imaging ; Cognition*/physiology; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Activities of Daily Living ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Aged, 80 and over ; Retrospective Studies ; Reaction Time/physiology ; Neuropsychological Tests

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the role that cognitive cerebellar lobules, compared to the motor ones, could have on performance abilities control in older individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
Methods: Thirty-six participants with MCI were retrospectively recruited from the outpatient clinic for Cognitive Decline and Dementia at Geriatric Clinic and Regional Center for Brain Aging. Cognition was assessed through a reaction time (RT) task in which a mere cognitive (COG) component (RT/S1 COG, RT/S3 COG) has been isolated from a motor (MOT) component (RT/S1 MOT, RT/S3 MOT). Performance abilities were evaluated using Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), Tinetti Scale, and Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Finally, structural neuroimaging was conducted using magnetic resonance imaging at 3T.
Results: Left_Crus_I showed a correlation with SPPB, ADL%, and RT/S3 COG. Vermis_VI and Right_VI were correlated to ADL%, and RT/S3 COG with the entire lobule VI. ADL% showed negative correlations with RT/S1 COG, RT/S3 COG, and RT/S3 MOT. In the regression analysis, the strongest associations were found between RT/S3 COG and SPPB gait speed (R2 = 0.44, p = 0.03), Tinetti gait speed (R2 = 0.62, p < 0.001), and ADL% (R2 = 0.78, p < 0.001). Regarding cerebellar volumes, Right_Crus_I was associated with all SPPB tests, while Left_VI was associated with functional autonomy (ADL%: R2 = 0.78, p = 0.04). No associations were found between performance variables and total intracranial volume.
Conclusions: This study highlights that the cognitive cerebellar component dominates over the motor one even in the control of physical and functional capabilities of older adults with MCI.
(Copyright: © 2025 Devita et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

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Date Created: 20250403 Date Completed: 20250515 Latest Revision: 20250515

20250519

PMC11967948

10.1371/journal.pone.0321304

40179117